


The Primo Story

by scarfy36



Category: Trust (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, Drug Use, Emotional Constipation, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Multi, Organized Crime, Pre-Canon, Prostitution, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarfy36/pseuds/scarfy36
Summary: A collection of ficlets in the Trust universe about Primo, Briga and Ada.
Relationships: Primo Nizutto/Gabriele (Trust), Primo Nizutto/Gabriele (Trust)/Ada (Trust)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. Early life: Childhood and Teenage Years

**Author's Note:**

> Well. Here it is: The Trust Bible.  
> This has been a big task, but one I've had so much fun doing. This work is not something I created alone, this universe is the product of so many people but especially Mack, Butts, Teffy, Kayla, Poppy and Humi.  
> Go check out the other works in this fandom for more of this world from their brilliant brains.
> 
> This first chapter contains an overview of the characters and five ficlets:  
> 
> 
> * Primo & Gabriele’s families
> * Primo’s friendship with Gabriele
> * First kiss
> * Establishing Ada
> * Gabriele being used to control Primo

# Characters

### Primo Nizutto 

  * He has four older sisters, three of them married farmers and the other married a baker. They’re all timid but good men, Primo likes the baker the best.
  * His Mama called him Topolino, before she passed away when he was 12.
  * His father remarries and he and Primo's stepmother have a son.
  * Gabriele's nickname for Primo is gatto because he’s feral and scrappy and scratchy and a trash cat. He gets gattino when he’s being condescending or cute.
  * 16th birthday - his father gifts him a knife and he makes his first kill
  * 17th birthday - his father hires Ada to sleep with him and they become best friends
  * Primo aged 21 - Father dies, shot by a hidden gunman in the mountains, Primo watches him bleed out



### Gabriele “Briga” Calati

  * He comes from a pretty big family, he's a farm boy through and through. 
  * Briga and Primo were friends at a young age, and they were always very close. Briga is the one person Primo trusts more than anything. 
  * They develop feelings for each other, but it starts out rocky because Primo seeks Gabriele out for the intimacy he craves but does not wish to acknowledge what that means and what it is that's happening between them.
  * Briga is Primo's nickname for Gabriele because it also means 'trouble.'
  * Briga’s mama and little sisters call him Lele. No one else is allowed to but he loves their pet name for him.
  * Briga does crime too, but for a different branch of the mafia. He runs the coke in and out with his pilot's jacket on. They're all in the Calabrian mafia, but Briga is in La Santa, a secret society within the calabrian mafia, and doesn't report directly to Don Salvatore like Primo has to.



### Ada Santarelli

  * Ada is the woman that Primo is seen talking to at the club before Fifty comes in. She also is the one that drives him and lets him into the house when Primo kills his uncle.
  * Ada is a prostitute that Primo’s father hired for him on his 17th birthday to take his virginity as a birthday present to "make him a man". They didn't have sex that night, they got high together and talked instead. Ada became Primo's closest friend aside from Gabriele.



# Childhood/teenage years

## Primo & Gabriele’s families

The youngest of Primo’s sisters is 6 years older than him. He was a surprise baby, but his dad was thrilled because he finally had a boy. 

He was a mama’s boy, though. She had a cute nickname for him, one that his dad always hated when she used but that never stopped her. She called him Topolino, her little mouse, because he was quiet and shy when he was still young, and he barely made a sound when he was coming and going. There’s something poetic about him being the mouse when he was little, and when he grows up he’s the cat.

Primo loses it if people call him a mouse though, only his mama is allowed. One of his sisters tries to once, after their mom has passed, thinking it would be a comfort to him. She hugs him, the first time they’ve seen each other since the funeral and she strokes his hair, “You must miss her, topolino. You were her favourite.” He snaps at her so fiercely that she looks a little frightened. He immediately regrets it, but it's still too fresh and that was his mama’s special name for him. She still tries to shove some baked goods into his hands, knowing there’s a good chance he hasn’t eaten that day. It’s too much for him to process so he runs off and hides for a while, until he can gather himself again.

Primo used to miss meals because he was hiding from his dad. Even now as an adult he’s still a little bit possessive and funny about food. 

Dinner at Gabriele’s family’s place was always chaotic but the food was good and Primo can get seconds if he wants them instead of a lecture about being grateful for what he’s been given. The first time it happens he has to shut himself in Gabriele’s room afterwards, it’s too much kindness for him to process. Lucia, Gabriele’s mama, starts noticing Primo squirreling away food. She quietly asks if he’s getting enough to eat and Primo lies, says it’s fine, but of course Lucia can tell he’s just trying to be polite. She sends Gabriele to school with extra food every day after that. She makes Primo a birthday cake every year when she realises that no one in his house is going to. He never tells her his favorite kind but somehow she always knows.

The year after his mother dies is especially tough on Primo, but Lucia’s kindness goes a long way in helping him through it. His youngest sister got married in the year before their mother passed, so it’s just Primo at home with his father. Primo’s sisters try to look after him, but they have their own families to care for and they don’t want him to think that they’re trying to take their mama’s place. They are also concerned that if they get involved with Primo that means they're getting involved with the family officially, and they try to keep their heads down and stay out of the family business. They see him at big events and at church, but they also know better than to question how their father is parenting him. It’s a lot of slipped money and treats and little smiles. In their own way, they’re trying and doing their best but there really is only so much they can do. As Primo gets older, he pays them less and less attention and is less likely to be pleased by a chocolate bar. Besides, Briga’s mama is feeding him when she can.

Primo hovers in the kitchen and offers to help wash up after dinner at Gabriele’s house. He doesn’t know how to say thank you, but figures this is a good start. Lucia tells him he doesn't need to, but he insists, so she passes him a dish towel. She's so kind and motherly that he finds himself coming out of his shell more and more around her. At one point Gabriele pokes his head in the kitchen to see if Primo is there. When he sees Primo smiling, genuinely, and laughing with his mother he gets this fond, soft look on his face. He leans up against the door and watches them for a little before announcing his presence, and when he does Primo is surprised and goes a little pink, but he returns the soft look Gabriele gives him.

Briga’s father was involved with the family business too, so Primo's father doesn’t care that Primo is friendly with him. Over time his dad gets a new wife, and a new son, so he doesn’t particularly care where Primo is as long as Primo does his job once he’s old enough. His stepmother wasn’t outwardly cruel to him but always favoured her own son more than Primo. She always gave her son the best of everything, the bigger portions at dinner, the better cut of meat. It was clear to Primo that his father favoured the younger son, too. Primo was nothing more than a reminder of the wife his father had lost.

## Primo’s friendship with Gabriele

After his mother passes, Primo goes to church and lights a candle for her every week. Gabriele is the only one of Primo’s friends that knew her, and for a time, Gabriele was the only person Primo would actually talk to after she died. Gabriele and Primo have been friends since they were little kids, but all of Primo’s other friends have only known him since he turned sixteen and started to get involved in the family business. Gabriele is the only friend Primo actually trusts, Primo trusts Gabriele, always. Gabriele has never used Primo’s weak moments against him in a way that he’s sure anyone else would. Sometimes it scares him how much he trusts Gabriele, he’s never trusted anyone that much. Trust had never been a luxury he could afford.

Gabriele turned 16 a few months before Primo did. Primo took him up into the mountains and they slept under the stars. In the morning Primo added more wood to the fire and tried to heat up water for coffee, and then pulled out a crumpled paper bag full of saccottino al cioccolato that had been halfway squished. He took a big bite of one and grinned with his mouth full before tossing the rest to Gabriele. 

"Buon compleanno… You are an old man now. You can get old and fat. I will stay young and handsome forever," he teases. They always joke about the few months between them, Primo calls Gabriele old man and Gabriele calls Primo baby.

Primo is a trash cat, but Gabriele adores him anyway. They’re cuddling under the stars and Gabriele kisses him and calls him Gattino, all soft. Primo’s first instinct is to push Gabriele’s chest and tell him he’s not a kitten. But then he realises there’s no one there to judge him and it’s actually quite nice to be talked to so tenderly. He doesn’t immediately pull his hand back after pushing at Gabriele’s chest, lets his hand stay there and feel the warmth of Briga’s skin. When Gabriele brings his hand up to twine their fingers, Primo lets him.

There is nothing romantic about this at first, or at least they don't think there is. They hold each other and press soft kisses against one another's cheeks and their hands are often touching. They’ve been like this since they were kids, easy with affection. 

It’s just comfort and expression of friendship and a little part of them assumes all friends are like that when they’re drunk or sleepy. Why wouldn’t they share a sleeping bag while camping? They’ll be warmer. It's not like Primo has any other real friends besides Gabriele, so Primo doesn’t have any metric of what friendship is. Primo often goes to push Gabriele away and ends up clinging to his shirt instead.

## First kiss

Primos dated a few girls, messed around a bit, and Briga had a serious girlfriend for a while there, but they were each other’s first kiss. Curious thirteen year olds hiding out up in the mountains, trying to avoid their families and responsibilities. It’s kind of weird and not very good and they decide not to bother trying again.

It’s only years later, when they’re seventeen and Briga’s talking about becoming a pilot, that they try again. They’re tipsy, stole a bottle of wine from Primo’s father and have been sharing it under the stars, sprawled on a ratty old blanket.

Primo rolls over, pressing up against Briga’s side and sighs heavily, “You won’t leave me though? Even if you have to move to Rome - you’ll always come back?” He’s feeling a little fragile about the whole thing, but he would stab anyone who so much as suggested that he’s anything but composed. 

“Of course. Besides, you can always come stay with me. Imagine us in Rome together - we’ll take it by storm.”

Primo smiles against his shoulder, and whip-fast, presses a kiss to Briga’s jaw.

He makes a face at the stubble Briga hasn’t bothered shaving, but doesn’t move far, so when Briga gets a hand in his hair and tugs lightly, he doesn’t have to shift all that much for Briga to be able to kiss him.

They’ve got more practice now, so the way their lips slide together is comfortable, natural - even though it does take a moment for Primo to settle into it and let Briga lead.

They break apart after a while, panting lightly and resting their foreheads together, eyes closed. The start of the kiss wasn’t perfect, Primo’s nose getting in the way and Briga, a little too enthusiastic, clacking their teeth together. But once they get into a good rhythm it’s the best kiss either of them has ever had.

Briga shifts so he can put his free hand on Primo’s lower back, heavy and warm through his thin shirt and Primo shivers a little, arching into the touch. 

“You really are a gattino huh?” Briga laughs and Primo growls at that, proving Briga’s point more than anything.

He can shut him up with kisses now, though, and he takes advantage of that, shifting up into his lap and taking control of the kisses.

Once Briga works that out, it’s very easy to distract Primo whenever he’s rambling or annoyed: Briga just steals a kiss and walks away, Primo chasing after him for more. “Hey, no. You can’t just walk away from me.”

Primo tugs at Briga's belt loops to drag him closer. Briga laughs and lets himself be pulled back towards Primo, “Gattino there are things that need doing today.” 

“Yeah, me.”

## Establishing Ada 

Primo met his best friend Ada when his father hired her for Primo on his seventeenth birthday. They didn’t have sex that night, though, they end up smoking and hanging out. Ada is a bit older than Primo, and they snuck onto the roof to drink wine and share a cigarette. He asked her questions about sex, because even though he wasn’t ready to have it then, he was curious. She laughed and stole the cigarette, “You might be my best client yet.” They spent the night cuddling under the stars and talking about where they’ll go in the future to escape their town. After that night they became ride or die best friends who occasionally made out while high. Later, Primo’s club is one of the safest for prostitutes to work from. He respects them and is pro sex workers. 

## Gabriele being used to control Primo

As teenagers, Primo and Briga would hide away up in the mountain caves with shitty wine, usually Communion Wine stolen from the store room at the church. They'd kiss and touch and stare out at the sky and plan their escape from Calabria. 

One night Briga goes up to the mountain to meet Primo and there’s glass at the entrance to the cave. He goes in and sees all of their little things that they collected - bottles of wine, candles, books - have all been thrown around and ruined, the basic bedroll and pillow they share has been ripped apart. There’s feathers everywhere and in the middle of it all is Primo, hugging his knees and crying. He’s got a split lip and his left eye is swollen.

His father had followed him up when he saw him sneaking out that night. Primo lied and said it was where he brought girls. He did everything he could to keep Briga out of this - he knows what his father is capable of. His father saw straight through his lies, which only made him angrier that Primo would dare lie to him.

Primo hasn’t cried since the first time he killed a man on his father’s orders, but the destruction of this one precious, holy thing that he has absolutely breaks him. As much as the beating he took hurt and he fears what’s next for him, more than anything he’s terrified for Briga. 

It’s after this that Primo’s father and Salvatore send Briga to train to be a pilot. Briga has always been vocal about his dream of flying, but he never expected the Nizzutos to twist it and use it to their advantage. Primo’s father thinks it’s useful to have something to keep Primo in check. Primo is always so much more obedient when he mentions that Gabriele will be out of the country a lot once he has his pilot’s licence. 

Briga likes flying, but most of all he likes that it means an escape. He tries to prove himself useful, knowing that doing better will mean more independence and freedom. He doesn’t like that it means leaving Primo alone in Calabria for days on end, however.

Briga is the one who suggests that Primo be the one to meet him in Rome to help with drops to their dealers. Salvatore can’t exactly say no to that, Primo is one of the only men in the family that’s able to travel as frequently as the job requires who hasn’t already messed up on a drop. Primo’s father allows it because Primo is good at the job, and he thinks Primo behaves better if he occasionally gets what he wants. His father knows he can threaten to take it away if Primo gets out of line, and Primo is always so grateful to see Gabriele that he’ll say yes to jobs they would usually argue about.

They make the most of their time in Rome away from the family. Primo is the one who finds Bertolini and the restaurant, he happens upon it when he’s looking for somewhere nice to take Briga on a date. He brings Gabriele there not too long after. “It’s perfect, right? The old pervert will let us use his kitchens. And he will deal some for us. We are big time, Briga. Big. Time.”

Gabriele huffs out an amused laugh and shakes his head. He reaches up and pulls the chain out from under the wide open collar of Primo’s shirt. He fiddles with it and meets his eyes. “Yes. Yes, we are.”

They have dinners out the front of Berto’s restaurant, holding hands under the table and trying not to think about how Gabriele has a shitty little apartment in Rome that they can go back to for a few hours before Primo has to drive home. Primo wants to stay the night, but he doesn’t think he could get away with it. They get a little bit tipsy and Briga jokes that he has to take Primo back to his apartment to show him the goods. Primo can’t help but giggle, Rome is so far from Calabria and the distance is tangible in how free Primo feels.

The first time someone other than Primo meets Briga at Berto’s to do the hand over Briga is confused, but he’s professional so he completes the handover, making small talk with one of Primo’s cousins he’s met a handful of times. As soon as they are finished he uses the phone at Berto’s and tries to call Primo, but of course he’s not answering. He's quietly panicking, wondering what happened to Primo, why he couldn't come.

Primo is away doing a different job for his dad, purposefully busy and fully aware that he’s been kept away from Gabriele. It’s one of the nails in his father’s coffin for Primo too. One day he’s going to watch his father die, and he won’t be able to bring himself to be at all upset.


	2. Early Adulthood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains:  
> 
> 
> * Primo as the sniper
> * Primo’s knife
> * Sex as a bargaining tool
> * Ada is shaken by a visit from her ex, Briga kills him and Primo takes the heat for it
> * A hit put out on Primo
> * Primo thinks Salvatore killed Gabriele
> * Briga brings home souvenirs for Primo
> * Primo gets shot

#  Early adulthood

##  Primo as the sniper

Primo is the go-to sniper for the family. With all the sitting around and waiting, no one else wanted the job so it was often shunted to Primo as the youngest. Over time he got better and better at it until he was recognised as the best sniper in the family, and assigned that position due to his skill, not just convenience. He likes it, likes the distance between the victim and himself. Given the choice between sniping and stabbing someone in close quarters, he’ll take the sniper rifle any day.

##  Primo’s knife

The only thing Primo has left of his father after the man dies is the knife that he has used on his father’s orders. He can’t bring himself to use it, but he can’t bring himself to throw it away, either, so he hides it in a shoebox under his bed. When he’s questioning himself and what he’s doing with his life, he gets the knife out of the box and looks at it, and is reminded that this is who he is, this is what he does. He’s a weapon, used by other people as a means to an end, and one day he wants to be the hand holding the weapon.

##  Sex as a bargaining tool

Primo goes over to Gabriele’s place after a disagreement with his uncle. They have sex but Primo’s heart isn’t really in it. He would much rather spend the night cuddling but he doesn’t know how to ask for it. 

Instead he lingers, Gabriele is on his back with his arms tucked behind his head. He’s idly watching Primo who’s sitting up beside him, fumbling to light a cigarette so he has something to do with his hands. Eventually Gabriele asks him, “what did you really come here for?” 

Primo doesn’t want Gabriele to think him weak for wanting to be held, so he says, “we need you to start bringing in another kilo a week.” Primo can’t look Gabriele in the eyes, so he misses the way Gabriele frowns because he thought Primo was going to ask for the soft touch he so clearly wants.

For a while, Primo treats the sex as a reciprocal transaction. Sex with Gabriele isn’t exactly a hardship, it’s always amazing, but Primo can’t handle the attention. He loves it, but it’s so overwhelming for him. Some days he wants to pretend that their relationship is purely physical, that Gabriele is just using him to get off. But Briga is so intense it makes Primo fall apart every time. Primo tells himself he doesn’t have feelings, it’s just a convenient fuck with his business partner. He tells himself that the reason he doesn’t notice women as much is because he knows he can get his needs met with Briga, not because he only has eyes for him. He argues that it makes him better at crime, when he’s not distracted by looking for sex. Gabriele sees right through Primo, but he humours him and lets Primo come over and pretend he doesn’t need anything from Gabriele, knowing that Primo will melt as soon as he’s in Briga’s arms.

##  Ada is shaken by a visit from her ex, Briga kills him and Primo takes the heat for it

When they're much younger, before they become powerful bosses, Ada was seeing a guy, Ignacio, who works for Salvatore. When she reconnected with Primo and Briga she’d recently broken up with him and he had moved to Colombia to oversee operations there. By the time he comes back, Ada has established her casual relationship with Primo and Briga and she rejects Ignacio when he says he wants her back.

When Ignacio first comes back to town he visits her at the club, Primo is there having a few drinks and sees her body language change, she just shrinks into herself. He's across the room straight away to put himself between Ignacio and Ada. Ignacio is obviously intimidated by Primo and leaves, but he makes it clear they haven't seen the last of him. Ada is still rattled and quiet but she's trying to put her brave face back on to finish working for the night. Primo can tell she's not up to it though and he calls over Sofia, one of Ada's most trusted girls, to take over and collect the earnings for the rest of the night.

Primo takes Ada home to his and Briga’s place, knowing she shouldn’t be alone tonight. They shower together, they’ve seen each other naked enough times that there’s nothing awkward or sexual about it, and he washes her hair, gently lathering the shampoo and combing through the conditioner. When they step out of the shower he wraps her in a fluffy towel, which must have been a gift from Ada in the first place, it’s far too soft for one of the boys to have picked out. He presses a gentle kiss to each cheek before rummaging in the cabinet for a comb. He perches on the edge of the bathtub and she sits on the floor between his legs, and they fall into a comforting rhythm of the comb through her hair. 

Primo knows how much it helps calm him down when Briga treats him softly like this, so he tries to give that same treatment to Ada. She's so used to having to be strong sometimes she forgets she can be soft. When he’s combing her hair, that's when the dam breaks and the tears start falling. She's staring at herself in the mirror, watching it and it's a surreal thing to see oneself breaking down. Primo tells her to look, really look. “What do you see?” 

She fixates on the puffiness of her eyes, she's still crying but he's starting to distract her. He kisses her shoulders and tells her, "I see you, Ada." He sees her, he always has. Even when she puts on a tough face, he can see beyond that.

It’s hard being a woman in this business, she knows she can't slip up ever or she'll never be taken seriously again. But she's known Primo since they were 17 and watched him grow from a gangly teenager into one of the most respected men in Calabria. There's no one she feels safer with. She loves Briga too, but there's more history with Primo. 

She stares at herself in the mirror a little longer and calms down enough that she's no longer crying. She looks in the mirror and sees herself. This is the woman who rose up from nothing. She sees the teenager in herself who fell in love with the wrong man, and the young woman who said enough was enough and got away from him. She sees the woman who's building an empire along with her best friends. She sees herself and all that she's gone through to get here. She sees herself and then she sees Primo, calmly watching her with complete faith in his eyes, leaning his head against her shoulder. She knows she can do it all alone, but she also knows that she’ll never have to. She lets out a long, calming breath and lets Primo take her to bed.

When Primo is shaken by something he always wants to be in the middle of an Ada-Briga sandwich, so tonight he wants to give Ada a version of that same comfort. He guides her to the bed and she lays down next to Briga, who was already asleep, but soon shuffles over to make room for them. Briga stirs and sleepily wraps an arm around her, pulls her closer, mumbles out a greeting and kisses her hair. He’s mostly asleep but he will always pull his partners close when they get into bed with him. Primo gets in on her other side and she falls asleep surrounded by warmth and love.

Ada's on edge for a few days after that, looking over her shoulder all the time, keeping an eye out for him. She sleeps in their bed for a solid week after that first night and even after that she spends more nights with them than not. 

She's out with Briga one day when he notices how off she's being. He asks her what's wrong and offers his help. She doesn’t know how much Primo has told him, or even how much she wants to tell him. She doesn't want him to think of her as weak, even as a part of her knows he would never and that she can rely on him. Briga notices her hesitation and just puts an arm around her waist, rubbing his thumb against her side in a soothing motion. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I’m here for you.”

And hesitantly, she starts. "When I was younger, foolish, there was a man..." She stops, not sure how to go on. 

"Ah. Primo told me about the man in the club. He hurt you?" Briga asks. She just nods and looks away. "You were not foolish amore, he was, for hurting you. But you don't need to worry about him, I’ll take care of it. He won't be hurting you, or anyone else, ever again."

A few weeks pass, and Ignacio finds photos of Ada with Primo and Briga. He threatens to show them to Salvatore and out Primo if she doesn’t get back with him. Briga wants to go after Ignacio, rough him up until he gives up the photos and leaves Ada alone, but Primo doesn’t want to upset things with Salvatore by beating up one of his men. When it becomes clear that Primo isn’t going to do anything, Briga leaves, takes Ada somewhere safe and doesn’t come home. It’s the biggest fight they’ve had so far. Primo spirals and does a lot of coke, he can’t bear to be sober. 

When he hears that Ignacio was found dead outside his apartment, his throat cleanly sliced, Primo knows it was Briga. He panics and tries to sober up before heading out to find Salvatore. He knows the consequences of what he’s about to do, but it’s better than the alternative. He tells Salvatore he killed Ignacio, spins the story into one of jealousy over Ada. He takes the beating, knowing that if he were anyone else, he’d be dead by now. 

Salvatore tells him that he has no chance of being recognised as heir. He lets Primo live because they don't kill family and because Primo is still useful and good at his job. Briga starts getting sent away more often and for longer periods of time after that, though. 

Gabriele doesn’t know that Primo has taken credit for the kill, at first. Ada hears about what went down at Salvatore’s from one of her girls and she tells Briga immediately.He rushes over to Primo’s place and finds him curled up on the couch, dripping blood on the blankets he’s wrapped himself in. Briga wants to wrap Primo up in his arms and hold him but he can see Primo is covered in bruises so he has to be gentle. He presses soft kisses to Primo’s forehead and goes to run a bath for him. He brings back ice for the worst of the bruising and coaxes Primo into following him into the bathroom. Gabriele helps him carefully strip his clothes off, his blood boiling when he sees the dark purple colour of Primo’s ribs when he pulls his shirt off. Briga checks the temperature of the water and helps Primo into the bath, where he sits curled in on himself while Briga kneels on the floor and washes the blood from his face and hair.

##  A hit put out on Primo

Someone put a hit out on Primo. Luckily, the idiot bragged about it in front of one of Ada’s girls and he was warned in time. Unfortunately, there was only time to warn Ada and Primo, and Briga didn’t get the message. Instead, he comes home to a bloodstained apartment and no Primo. He thinks the worst, thinks he’s failed his gatto. 

He knows he can’t stay there, so he goes to Ada’s apartment to let her know. He’s a mess, but maybe he can share his grief with her and together they can figure out how to find the body and what they need to do next. When he gets to Ada’s place and sees Primo at the table, drinking wine and laughing and  _ alive _ , Briga nearly collapses in the doorway in relief. He lets out a sob and a heart wrenching “Primo.” 

He closes the door behind himself and leans back against the wood, staring at Primo with tears of relief and joy streaming down his face. Primo is halfway across the room, equally confused and worried, until he hears Briga take a shuddering breath and say, “I thought you were dead.” It finally clicks in Primo’s head and the look in Briga’s eyes shakes Primo to his core. He didn’t think Briga would be this messed up, he still has a hard time believing he can be this loved. He also didn’t consider what the state of the apartment would look like to Briga. Briga closes the distance and meets Primo in the middle of the room, wraps his arms around his gatto and just holds him. 

##  Primo thinks Salvatore killed Gabriele

The first time Salvatore sees Primo cry is when Salvatore lets Primo think Gabriele died on a pick up gone wrong. He’s not really crying, though, he refuses to let the tears spill. Primo knows that men don’t cry. When Salvatore tells him that Gabriele is alive after all Primo’s face goes through a whirlwind of emotions - relief is what he feels the most, but it soon turns into fury when Salvatore starts laughing. Salvatore has realised he’s finally found the one thing his brother never managed to find: a way to keep Primo under control.

Primo’s face is red and blotchy and he’s blinking away unshed tears. He hurls his glass against the wall, seething. Salvatore is still laughing. Primo launches out of his chair and grabs a fistful of his uncle's shirt, his fist hovering beside his head. Salvatore isn't laughing anymore. Everyone knows Primo is crazy so Salvatore doesn't know what he might do on impulse. Primo stares into his uncle's eyes, Salvatore is looking at him as if to say, "go on, do it, see what happens." Primo punches the wall next to Salvatore's head and storms out.

Primo goes straight to Briga’s apartment, even though he knows Gabriele isn’t there. He doesn’t have his key and can’t remember where the spare is so he breaks in, jimmying the lock with his pocket knife. He finds one of Briga’s shirts laying at the foot of the bed and curls up with it, pressing his face into the fabric. It’s the closest thing he can get to holding Briga until he gets back. He lets himself cry once he’s curled up in Briga’s bed, under the covers and surrounded by his scent. That's how Briga finds him: passed out in his bed with dried tear tracks on his face.

Briga wasn't expecting Primo to be at his place, but he sees Primo's shoes by the door so he's not surprised he's waiting for him. He assumes its going to be 'I missed you' sex until he sees that his gattino is curled up in the foetal position, his gangly limbs all tucked up, and he sees his face is red and splotchy from crying. Gabriele places his bag down as quietly as he can but it still wakes Primo, who blinks his eyes open heavily, looking around until he sees Briga. Primo practically leaps out of the bed and latches onto Gabriele, launching into a new batch of tears, though this time they're ones of relief. Briga has no idea what's happened but knows it must have been something big to set Primo off like this.

"Is Ada--?" he can't even get the words out before Primo is shaking his head.

"Salvatore- he," Primo says between sobs, "he said there was trouble with the last pickup. Said you were dead."

"Oh gattino," Briga says, stroking Primo's hair gently and guiding them back to bed. "I'm here. I'm okay."

Most nights Primo is the little spoon, but tonight he needs to hold Briga in his arms.

Primo is so used to everyone leaving him in some way. His mama died, Leo and Regina got busy with their own child, his sisters all got married and didn’t have time for him anymore. And this is the first time he’s had to worry about Gabriele leaving him. It took time but he's accepted that Gabriele loves him and isn't going to leave him. He's secure in that, but he hadn't considered the other ways he could lose Briga.

The next time Briga has to leave, Primo gets clingy. He insists it’s fine and nothing’s wrong, but he’s also pulling Briga back in for yet another kiss goodbye, and then another two after that. Primo stays with Ada the next time Briga leaves, because he doesn't want to be alone. Primo’s still pretending he’s fine so he doesn’t warn her, he just shows up with his overnight bag. Gabriele had anticipated this happening, so he spoke to Ada before he left, filling her in on everything that happened. He asks her not to say anything to Primo, not to make it a big deal, but just look after Primo and help him be okay while Briga is gone. Primo doesn’t mention Salvatore, but Ada notices that every time she moves or leaves a room, he trails after her without letting her out of his sight. She doesn’t mind, and she enjoys cuddling with him at night when they share a bed, but she is concerned about how much this has impacted Primo. She’ll sit down with Gabriele when he gets back and talk about how to address this long-term (without killing Salvatore, as much as they both want to).

##  Briga brings home souvenirs for Primo

Briga always makes sure to bring something home for Primo, a little present from everywhere he’s been. He does forget one time and he’s kicking himself for it but Primo just says “it’s okay, just take me there one day and we'll make a memory together,” and “you came home again, that’s a gift for me.” and “but also, don’t stop bringing presents, I like the presents,” and “just buy me two presents next time you go there”

Gabriele likes to bring back presents from his work trips, sometimes just chocolate or nice wine, sometimes jewellery or clothes, sometimes sex toys. He likes all of them, but he has a soft spot for chocolate. Primo hasn’t travelled outside of Italy, so Gabriele brings him things from overseas and tells him about what it’s like. (Primo doesn’t understand why they need so many sex toys, they do perfectly well without and you only use one or two at a time.)

##  Primo gets shot

Someone tries to retaliate against Salvatore by shooting Primo. He gets hit in the side and needs surgery but he's ultimately okay. Briga isn’t there when it happens, Ada calls him as soon as he lands and he comes straight from the airport to the hospital. Briga refuses to leave Primo's side and Ada has to bring him a change of clothes. Briga has never been closer to killing Salvatore than when he visits Primo and acts concerned in front of the nurses. Salvatore acts all concerned and familial but when they’re alone he threatens Primo, pressing into the bandages, “You fucked up. I’m going to have to fix this mess and I’m not happy about it.” 

Briga is sitting there, absolutely furious. He's mentally ranking all the ways he could kill Salvatore by how satisfying they would be. He shares this list with Primo when they're back home. 

Briga snaps and yells at Salvatore, “they had to shoot him for you to worry about him.” Salvatore tries to get Briga kicked out of Primo’s room, citing “only family is allowed to visit.” Briga’s face shifts into the most satisfied grin, because he and Primo registered for a civil union months ago but hadn’t told anyone. Salvatore’s face drops when he realises that it means Briga is Primo’s next of kin, not him. Briga uses this power to make Salvatore leave.

Briga stays strong and doesn't cry until Primo's home. Ada makes him coffee while Primo is asleep in the next room and he just breaks down at the kitchen table.

**Author's Note:**

> yell about this with me on tumblr @raynertodd


End file.
